4th November 2009,
London, United Kingdom

This workshop will address a number of key themes in the important area of convergence in battlefield communications systems.

Military satellite communications is evolving with an increase in dedicated Milsatcom spectrum, complemented by commercial satcoms and the emergence of the S-band for emergency use. As satellite bandwidth increases, military satellite terminals can be used for fixed, mobile (land, sea & air), man-portable and hand-held scenarios. Terminals are becoming increasingly interoperable with terrestrial wireless systems.

Who should attend?

The workshop is aimed at everyone who is involved in the design, specification, installation and use of Network Centric Satcom systems for military use as well as emergency and disaster recovery applications. Delegates will gain a broad understanding of all aspects of such systems and be much better placed to understand the design trade-offs. This will help them to make informed decisions regarding the specification of the systems and to understand what real world performance can be expected.

The workshop will include the following content:

The evolution of Satellite Communications

How situational awareness needs access to easy to use display devices, including communication of data and video, as well as location and timing to enable blue force tracking to co-ordinate forces

How satellite backhaul and ideally Satcom-On-The-Move and use of IP is used to link all assets

How ad-hoc, self healing, extendable networks can be used to overcome the RF propagation challenges facing armed forces in urban environments and difficult terrain

How high quality digital video can be streamed using COFDM terrestrial wireless systems and video over satellite

How integration of systems onto military platforms has become a critical part of the network centric warfare. Techniques that overcome mutual interference between radios are a key part of making real-life systems co-exist on the same platform

How GPS, and alternative techniques based on adaptive antenna arrays and inertial navigation systems, can provide robust navigation information in a hostile environment

Convergence between terrestrial radio and satellite communications, including the evolution off cognitive radios and software defined waveforms

Integrated Force Protection, providing preventive measures to mitigate hostile actions. Threat detection is critical, using systems such as Ground-Penetrating Radar for mine detection, as well as EO/IR cameras with intelligent video analysis software.

The workshop will also include a case study, describing how a 2-way radio over satellite system was deployed by the American Red Cross in response to Hurricane Katrina.

About your workshop leaders:

Martin Shelley is currently Project Manager in the Antenna and Electronic Systems Business Unit at Cobham Technical Services. he is responsible for the development of antennas for satellite communications on the move. His expertise covers an extensive range of technologies including most types of arrays, reflectors and low gain antennas, together with printed and waveguide power dividers. These skills have been applied to applications including spacecraft payloads, military systems and commercial wireless access systems.

Adrian Payne is currently a senior consultant and the technical lead on Software Defined Radio and System Architectures within the Antenna and Electronic Systems Business unit at Cobham Technical Services. He has particular expertise in system-level design and simulation of transceiver architectures, radio systems and signal processing algorithms and has worked on many wireless standards both in research and development environments.

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CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development’. It is essentially a philosophy,
which maintains that in order to be effective, learning should be organised and
structured. The most common definition is:

‘A commitment to structured skills and knowledge enhancement for Personal or Professional
competence’

CPD is a common requirement of individual membership with professional bodies and
Institutes. Increasingly, employers also expect their staff to undertake regular
CPD activities.

Undertaken over a period of time, CPD ensures that educational qualifications do
not become obsolete, and allows for best practice and professional standards to
be upheld.

CPD can be undertaken through a variety of learning activities including instructor
led training courses, seminars and conferences, e:learning modules or structured
reading.

CPD AND PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTES

There are approximately 470 institutes in the UK across all industry sectors, with
a collective membership of circa 4 million professionals, and they all expect their
members to undertake CPD.

For some institutes undertaking CPD is mandatory e.g. accountancy and law, and linked
to a licence to practice, for others it’s obligatory. By ensuring that their members
undertake CPD, the professional bodies seek to ensure that professional standards,
legislative awareness and ethical practices are maintained.

CPD Schemes often run over the period of a year and the institutes generally provide
online tools for their members to record and reflect on their CPD activities.

TYPICAL CPD SCHEMES AND RECORDING OF CPD (CPD points and hours)

Professional bodies and Institutes CPD schemes are either structured as ‘Input’
or ‘Output’ based.

‘Input’ based schemes list a precise number of CPD hours that individuals must achieve
within a given time period. These schemes can also use different ‘currencies’ such
as points, merits, units or credits, where an individual must accumulate the number
required. These currencies are usually based on time i.e. 1 CPD point = 1 hour of
learning.

‘Output’ based schemes are learner centred. They require individuals to set learning
goals that align to professional competencies, or personal development objectives.
These schemes also list different ways to achieve the learning goals e.g. training
courses, seminars or e:learning, which enables an individual to complete their CPD
through their preferred mode of learning.

As a formal provider of CPD certified activities, SMI Group can provide an indication
of the learning benefit gained and the typical completion. However, it is ultimately
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in line with their professional body’s or employers requirements.

GLOBAL CPD

Increasingly, international and emerging markets are ‘professionalising’ their workforces
and looking to the UK to benchmark educational standards. The undertaking of CPD
is now increasingly expected of any individual employed within today’s global marketplace.

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